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Justin Lemkul is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech and serves as Graduate Program Director. He earned both his B.S. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech. Before joining the faculty, he worked as a Research Scientist in Biochemistry at Virginia Tech from May 2012 to May 2013 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computer-Aided Drug Design Center from July 2013 to July 2017. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech in August 2017 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2023.
Lemkul’s research employs state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulation models and methods to investigate biomolecular structure-function relationships, with a focus on computational modeling of amyloidogenic proteins and G-quadruplexes as well as computer-aided drug design. His group applies the Drude polarizable force field to study conformational ensembles, folding pathways, protein misfolding and aggregation linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and properties of small molecules in biological environments. He has received multiple honors, including induction into the Virginia Tech Academy of Faculty Service in 2025, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award in 2025, the Department of Biochemistry Outstanding Service and Outreach Award in 2024, the Department of Biochemistry Outstanding Research Award in 2022, the OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in 2022, and the Department of Biochemistry Outstanding Teaching Award in 2021. Lemkul serves as President of the Virginia Tech Faculty Senate and as faculty representative to the Board of Visitors. Recent publications include work on polyethylene terephthalate properties from polarizable simulations (2025), induced dipole effects in small molecule permeation (2024), and base pair dynamics in G-quadruplex structures (2024).
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